PORTOBELLO FRITTATA

One thing that sometimes worries me when I include what I think is a simple recipe is that you might think I'm "teaching you to suck eggs". Well, here I'm literally doing that with a simple eggy frittata. What's so lovely about frittatas is that they allow you to experiment, using veggies and herbs of your choice; adding grated cheese or not; mixing the eggs with milk, almond milk or even (like I did) fresh cream; adding a dash of chilli if you like it a bit spicy.... the permutations are endless. Only the formula stays the same. I've called this one "Portobello Frittata" because I used meaty Portobello mushrooms, which were staring at me in the supermarket, but you go ahead and make up your own if you like. Or just follow this to the letter. This simple dish, made a few nights ago, turned out to be one of Mike's favourites. The recipe serves 4 people or 2 hungry ones with maybe a bit left over, which is always nice cold the next day,

INGREDIENTS

4 - 6 free range eggs

healthy dollop of fresh cream

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

50g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, diced finely

2 small yellow onions, chopped finely

3 large Portobello mushrooms, trimmed, peeled and chopped (but never washed)

handful of chopped parsley

handful chopped chives

1 tbsp grated cheese (optional)

METHOD

Preheat grill in your oven to 300C. (default temp).

Whisk eggs, cream, salt 'n' pepper in a medium bowl.

Set aside.

Warm a heavy frying pan over medium heat.

Add butter and olive oil.

When sizzling, add chopped onions.

When onions become transparent, add garlic.

Cook for 2 or 3 minutes and then add chopped mushrooms.

When mushrooms become fragrant and browned at the edges, add egg/cream mixture.

Cook gently over medium heat, not stirring, until you can see eggs firming up around the edges.

Add your grated cheese, if using.

Pop the whole frying pan under the grill for a few minutes until eggs become puffed up and golden.

Adjust seasoning.

Serve with salad of your choice.